Thalia

Group brunch and the food was good. The service was not so good. The place was packed, but I needed to fetch the waitress many times.

Oyster Happy Hour from 8pm on was bomb! The rose wine was well balanced too. The atmosphere was cozy and made me feel like I was away from the touristy part of the city.

Scallops were seared perfectly! But I didn’t like the butternut squash purée. Presentation was nice.

Very fancy place. We had some wine and oysters, 1.50 $ it’s good. Tuna tartar was good, would have loved some chips to eat it with.

This place was fairly empty on a Saturday night which should have been a warning sign. But I proceeded to choose a nice table amongst the ten or so that were free.
My Eastern European waitress was pretty blunt in her welcome. Fair enough, who likes working Saturday night? I told her I couldn’t eat dairy and I asked if there was anything on the menu that I could have (literally everything seemed to either be cooked in butter or made with cheese). She didn’t seem too happy to engage in helping me out which was a bit annoying (and it’s annoying enough anyway to not be able to eat anything with dairy in).
Then she brought out some foccacia and butter, before saying «oh wait, you can’t have that, sorry» and taking it away. I felt like one of those children in the supermarket when the parent takes the chocolate out of the basket.
In the end I ordered the crab cake (which for the $ 16 price tag was literally three spoons of crab lumps on some chopped mango) and the squid ink pasta, which was better, but again the ratio of pasta (loads) to seafood (not enough) was disappointing.
This is one of those places that looks expensive in the photo but is cheap and tacky when you touch it. The service wasn’t great. The food wasn’t great. It was overpriced.
Not a nightmare experience but one to make me not return.

Good, but nothing spectacular. I did like the actual look of the place the most. I order a burger which was okay, but did lack that little something extra. 4 stars for nice service and a cool atmosphere.

brunch experience was subpar.
long wait for a server.
chicken sandwich was on the dry side. way too much fries to compensate for lack of good food.
mimosa looked pale & bulimic.
Uninspiring!

Only had the oysters during happy hours. Pretty fresh and decent, ambiance is nice, but I could definitely find better and cheaper.

I really enjoyed my meal, and so did the rest of my party. Everyone’s food was so tasty and not one person was unhappy with any part of their meal. The atmosphere was perfect and the service was excellent. It’s a perfect place for a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary. This place was a treat to eat at. :)

The food is amazing!!! The squid ink pasta is the best! Really nice atmosphere!
Pretty good service too.

As I mentioned in my last review, I found Thalia’s main draw to be its $ 1 oyster deal.
I recently went back to do just that: indulge in $ 1 oysters after 7pm. Until I got there and the sign now said $ 1.50 oysters after 8pm! 50% price increase? I didn’t find the food, décor, price, or service good enough to compensate– so I decided to grab dinner elsewhere.

New menu and lobster mac! Yum!

If you’re going to offer a 90 minute all you can drink brunch then I expect you to be on top of drink service. Also, at the very end we were told we would need to move as we we’re sitting in the area that they have family meals.
The bloody mary was decent, the pastrami and eggs were delicious. I wouldn’t go back for either when there are so many better choices in the area.

Solid neighborhood staple that offers a good mix — there’s something for everybody, which makes it great when my friends are in the area and I don’t have a good sense of their particular tastes, as Thalia offers good range from solid salads to seafood to meats to pasta. It’s not a huge menu but almost always a crowd-​pleaser. It’s also conveniently located near midtown and the theater district, but just far enough north to allow you to avoid the midtown foot traffic. It’s also a decent brunch spot (yum eggs benedict). It’s not exactly revolutionary, but the dishes range from solid to very good. I’ve never had anything bad there.
The décor is trendy enough to satisfy my out-​of-​town friends but I can still show up in casual clothes and not feel too out-​of-​place.
Favorites: $ 1 oysters (though I’ve heard rumors this may be changing so perhaps call to confirm?), the huge juicy Thalia burger, the tuna. Mmm now I want a burger. And oysters.

Super disappointed. This WAS my favorite restaurant, until they changed the menu around… What happened to the Prince Edward Muscles? They have them on the menu but it’s a totally different recipe. Why would you change something SO delicious with this mess? Goodbye Thalia. It was a good run.

Eating breakfast here early on in our trip was a mistake. We peaked in terms of delicious breakfast. Nothing could compare.
The Eggs Benedict with salmon and spinach was melt in your mouth divine. The interior design was subtle yet kool without trying. Bloody Mary anyone? The best I have had since Banff, Canada. Spicy, a bit of lemon, an olive, and not stuffed with junk like celery. The Buttermilk pancakes with lemon cream and roasted pecans were devoured by our children with out any coaxing. Service was non intrusive and right on.

I’ve been a fan of Thalia for years now and haven’t reviewed it. Sis and I stopped in yesterday after seeing a show and I was reminded of what a great place this is. I loved their polenta with mushroom ragu as an appetizer, but yesterday it wasn’t on the menu. I also normally go with their spaghetti dish. It is beautifully homemade pasta in a simple tomato sauce and it is delicious in its simplicity. Last night however I was in the mood for something slightly different and I ordered the Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna. It’s described as: spicy tuna tartare, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, cilantro, ramen noodle stir fry, beans sprouts, masago arare micro, sesame oil.
It was Delicioius, and I capped that on purpose. The tuna was seared to perfection and all the ingredients worked so well together. I can’t wait to have it again.
You won’t be sorry if you try this place. It is consistently wonderful.

This has been a staple restaurant in the area for me for a number of years and half always enjoyed my experience for both food and service. I went there this Friday and everything was not right — food and service.
We were disappointed to find out they no longer have the oyster specials. Along with that there was no bread service. The food was really really not good (I wish we did decide to leave after finding out about the oyster special).
Tuna tartare — okay but came with no bread
Mussels — really really grainy and not good
Zucchini pasta — mushy veggies
French fries — maybe this was the freshest item but still a little off
I don’t know if they wanted us to leave but the creepy busboy kept coming back to our table every 3 – 4 minutes when it was obvious, we were still working on our dishes.
I’ll need to find another place in the area.
Goodbye Thalia — we had a good run

Summary: The bar is perfect for most meeting places. 3.5 is being rounded up to a 4 because Thalia will become that solid neutral choice for most people that live in the neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 8^th Avenue and westward is primarily packed with lower scale or trendy-​dive places to fill it’s old demographic’s budget. Thalia has been there for ages and is successful — I believe — because it caters to the «Clinton» crowd that while loving the grit of HK on 9^th Avenue, needs a place that isn’t too quaint or popular that you can’t get a seat, too sexy that it’s awkward if you’re with a friend, and too loud that you can’t talk. It’s clean, looks more up-​scale than its $ 1 oysters would suggest and can be the setting for a variety of meet-​ups from date to catching up with a friend, mentor, or colleague. I give it a solid 4 on atmosphere. The removal of the 1 star is because the restaurant doesn’t quite have its own unique, memorable voice in atmosphere, which so many places in Manhattan do.
Service: The Bar has 1 server and it can get rather busy. They have great bus staff that keep the place neat and tidy though and can thoughtfully aid in getting staff attention or the basic stuff (menu, water, etc). Dining service is quite prompt and both are quite knowledgeable about their areas. The bartender and staff know all the wines by the glass and by bottle quite well. Both will be happy to tell you what they prefer on the menu. It’s all pretty delicious. 5 stars.
Drinks: They do have a nice selection of cocktails worthy of trying, hence adding this to the mixology list. I, however, go when I want to share a bottle of wine outside of my home with friends in a livelier atmosphere. This is one of the more reasonable wine by the bottle places. The sommelier does a descent job of curating the list to have a handful of affordable (sub-​$ 50) but tasty wine options in red and white. They do run out, though, hence docking a star (4 stars).
Food: This menu is a hodge podge that could roughly be categorized as seafood, and I mean that in the nicest of ways. It gets overall a 4, i.e. minus one star for having no «story.» But this food is better than most spots that would fit the bill for your typical neighborhood meet-​up. Below are some of my favorite choices.
Oysters — At $ 1, you should get as many as you like.
All of the Sushi — It’s fine. Clean and non-​fishy, but you wouldn’t go here specifically for sushi
Fried Calamari — This is quite good. 5 stars
Tuna Tartar — Great choice for an appetizer
Capellini with Seafood — I quite like this dish for its portion and it’s delicious flavor.

THERE ARE NO MORE DOLLAR OYSTERS AFTER 7 PM.
SO SAD.
My friends and I came here last week just to try out their dollar oysters special, to find out, that Thalia is no longer offering that special.
Cue disappointment. We ended up ordering two pasta dishes, mussels, and pork belly for the table.
The highlight of the meal was the pork belly, it’s presentation is cute and it will make you go aw. Three pieces of fried pork belly comes with a blanket of a quail egg over the pork belly to make sure they don’t get cold.

This used to be one of my favorite places and a place where I could trust I would get a safe gluten-​free meal. My boyfriend and I live a couple of blocks away from Thalia and would visit multiple times every month. We both frequently work past 7pm, so we especially loved the $ 1 oyster special. We would usually order 3 – 4 dozen oysters, a couple of appetizers, and 1 – 2 drinks each. Was it a four course meal? No. But it was easily $ 100+ spend after tax and tip.
We were extremely disheartened tonight to learn they’ve totally changed the menu, gotten rid of the $ 1 oyster special, along with the best polenta I’ve had in my entire life. Now, it appears as though they don’t want your business unless you’re there to spend $ 30 per entrée. And the oysters? Get ready to fork over $ 4 each. We politely expressed our disappointment to our server and asked if they were ever going to bring back the $ 1 oyster special. He responded, in an unnecessarily condescending tone, that he «didn’t think so», but that we «could order them at the printed menu price.» At that point, we got up and walked out.
I get that it’s a business. I get that sometimes a price increase is necessary. But I fail to see the logic in making changes to this extreme. Being situated in the Theatre District, the restaurant draws a large pre-​theater dinner crowd. After 8pm, the crowds thin out as Broadway-​goers scurry to their seats. Wouldn’t you want something to draw more people into your establishment instead of driving potential (or, in our case, formerly loyal) customers away? We went in at 8:15 and the restaurant was nearly empty. Now I understand why. These changes are alienating the segment of people that live and work in the area who want a moderately priced dinner/​light bite option.
I hope that they bring back the oyster special, even if at a slightly higher price, or figure out another way to support their loyal customers who have supported them for years. We have had many great times there, with just the two of us as well as with family and friends. We’ll miss Thalia very much, but hope that we won’t have to for too long.

Strictly for the $ 1 oyster special. I was very skeptical when I learned that this place had their oyster special 7 days a week — given it’s location. However, it’s just that. My friend and I stopped by after a show and chowed down on two dozen oysters in less than half an hour! The oysters themselves were decent sized and were pretty good. Nevertheless, great deal everyday from 7 to closing. Now I know where to go to satisfy an oyster craving.

This review is only for their $ 1 Oyster Night Deal.
$ 1 Oyster Every Night 7 Days A Week from 7pm till Closing! There is no deal like that anywhere in the city. My most recent discovery (for maybe a year now) is oysters. We came here after a show and ordered 2 dozen raw oysters. They were pretty standard size, very silky, and not bad at all. Although no sand in the oyster, there were some shell pieces here and there. Nonetheless, I’m definitely coming back if I’m in the area.

$ 1 oysters from 7 to close (assorted)! Woo hoo!
Thalia’s is a really relaxing place to grab a drink or get dinner. It provides a great atmosphere to chat with friends and for dates, I love the high ceilings and mod décor! The food comes out pretty fast and the servers are attentive. It’s mostly casual /​a little dressy. The calamari is great and you can’t beat the dollar oysters! So worth it!

Great oyster happy hour! Sit outside– it’s great people watching bring so close to Times Square!

I think if you look down on this list of Unilocal reviews, 9 out of 10 reviews mention about 1 thing– 1 DOLLAR OYSTERS. yup they are a dollar alright but unfortunately they didn’t have it the night we were there. So sorry this review will not be based around dollar oysters, yes sad day but no this is not going to be a rage post ;)
How do one categorize Thalia, is it Japanese? French? Italian? or is it an American restaurant? In the end, I don’t think it really matter, the more options the better!
Thalia restaurant is located on 8^th ave between 49^th street and 50^th street.
Parking: The restaurant is pretty close to Times Square so you know how the parking situation is– unless you want to burn $ 40 – 50 bucks parking, avoid it at all cost. Instead take the C, E Train to 50^th street or 1 train to 50^th street and walk a block over.
Décor and Ambiance– First impression– wow this place is big, the restaurant is pretty much separated into two different sides, the bar/​lounge side and the dining side. When you enter the restaurant, you’ll immediately notice the big semi round bar table on your left and the romantic dimly lighted lounge on the right hand side– oh their couches are so comfortable! I only know because they originally sat us at the lounge side and then they realize we were there for dinner and moved us. The dining side was also candle light lit and filled with a lot of mirrors that illuminate the candle light further more, which gives a warm and romantic elegant feel to the place.
We made a reservation for 10 people on a Saturday night, the restaurant was very nice in calling us a few hours before to let us know that there will not be any dollar oysters that night. We still went because we didn’t want to change our plans.
The place wasn’t too full when we entered at around 8:00pm so we were seated right away.
They started our party off with some fresh bread and some olive spread. I’m not a big fan of olive so I skip on that but the bread was definitely made fresh, the focaccia was nice and soft, and made perfect with a drizzle of olive oil and salt.
Our party of 10 ordered a variety of Japanese/​Italian and American food and a number of them were either hit or miss. We enjoyed the pasta dishes best but of all the items we ordered, here are some of our favorites (starting with appetizer) :
1. Spicy Salmon Tartare (forbidden rice, fried wontons, harissa vinaigrette) — I can’t help but feel rebellious after eating the forbidden rice ;))) but all jokes aside, this is a great appetizer. The salmon was fresh to start which gave the dish a creamy texture, the spicy mayo added to the salmon was just right and didn’t overpower the fish. The forbidden rice was well flavored and gave the dish a much needed texture contrast. and of course the crunchy fried wontons and vinaigrette gave the dish more texture and tartness to balance out the salmon. YUM!!! perfect way to start your meal!
2.Squid Ink Capellini (rock shrimp, cockle clams, calamari, mussels, tomato, basil-​tarragon white wine sauce) — just the name of this dish should peak your interest, first of all freshly made Capellini is legit! pasta is al dente but the squid ink is star of the show here, it wasn’t fishy and added a lot of flavor and creaminess to the pasta. The rock shrimp was fresh, chewy and perfect bite size without shells, calamari was nice and tender and the mussel was juicy and well marinate by the tomato, basil-​tarragon white wine sauce. What an excellent dish, I would order this in a heartbeat! MUST TRY!
3. Angel Hair (clams, bay scallops, shrimp, calamari, mussels, spicy white wine tomato sauce) — Did someone say fresh pasta? yes the angel hair pasta was definitely fresh, I had a hard time deciding which dish was better (the Squid Ink Capellini or this). The portion was big and they were not stingy with their seafood neither. But my favorite part of the dish is the spicy white wine tomato sauce, OMG, this sauce gave the dish life, I mean it wasn’t super spicy but it gives the seafood and pasta a little kick in your mouth which prompts you to eat another bite of this dish… SO GOOD!!! MUST TRY!!!
Service: We had a great waiter and he was very accommodating even though some of our party came like 30+ minutes late. Water was refilled throughout and our waiter came to check up on us every 15 minutes or so.
Price: Average– Entrée ranges from $ 19– $ 31, most pasta dishes runs for around $ 23-​$ 25 which I think is totally worth it but there are some dishes that I feel are overpriced.
Overall: Our party had a good experience at Thalia, there are definitely some hit/​miss dishes here but when you are in doubt, go with the fresh pastas. Service was great and the price was average (again the pastas are worth it). I think Thalia is worth a try if you are into pastas, just make sure to go on a day where they have the dollar oysters!

$ 1 oysters from 7pm to 1am! Excellent lobster bisque as well!
Fun post-​broadway pit stop.